Aquilegia alpina is a species-columbine that rivals the fanciest cultivars and has been grown in gardens for as long as the idea of gardening has existed. It is a clump-forming perennial with deep blue-green, downy foliage and vibrant violet blue nodding flowers in late spring and early summer.

Native to Canada and the US in all states east of the Rockies, this superb variety is quite unlike the usual Aquilegia. Growing just twelve to eighteen inches tall, with dark-green foliage and eye-catching, scarlet and lemon-yellow flowers which hang like drifts of softly illuminated lanterns.

Native to New Mexico, Aquilegia skinnerii was brought into cultivation as early as 1865 and has been since forgotten until very recently with the re-introduction of this selected new strain. An unusually attractive species, with distinctive nodding flowers that are copper-red with golden yellow centres.

Aquilegia viridiflora ‘Chocolate Soldier’ is a choice columbine that features delicate, nodding blooms. They are the first to flower from late spring onwards. With chocolate-brown petals, green sepals, yellowish-green stamens, anthers and brown spurs. The blooms are short-spurred and are sweetly fragrant.

'Lime Sorbet' is a recent introduction and one that is proving most fashionable. Stylish and elegant, producing many stems of spurless double pompon flowers in a soft lime green to white. The delicate, pale limey-white colour is ideal for drifting through a calm-coloured bed.

Eye-catching, purple-black flowers with contrasting white centres appear in late spring and early summer above fern-like, mid-green leaves this variety is something special. 'William Guinness' is a superb and reliable Aquilegia variety that makes an ideal cut flower, it grows and blooms well in shady areas.

Dragonfly is a dwarf Mckana type, with large, vibrant flowers in a multitude of colours each with long, star-shaped spurs. Growing to around 60cm tall, with handsome, finely-divided blue-green foliage that tends to remain dense right to the ground. *Discount available for multiple purchases.

Mckana's Giant is a superior strain developed for its very large flowers with long graceful spurs. This exciting group of hybrid aquilegia in a very wide colour range, including combinations of white, pink, blue, yellow, crimson and scarlet, with crisp coloured outer petals, and cream/white coloured inner petals..

The 'Star' series was bred to have “upward facing” flowers; it is similar to the Mckana varieties but in single colours. With violet-blue petals with a pure white corolla, this early summer cottage garden favourite produces striking, long spurred blooms year after year.

The 'Star' series was bred to have “upward facing” flowers. With bright red sepals and creamy white centres, 'Red Star' has elegant long spurs and tidy mounds of fern like foliage. A superb and reliable Aquilegia variety that makes an ideal cut flower and herbaceous border feature.